Perry, who has discussed his rough childhood in the past, said that turning 40 and working on the film Precious (about an abused teenage girl) prompted him to go into further detail.

"[The movie] hit me so hard, I sat there in tears realizing that somehow, by the grace of God, I made it through," wrote Perry. "Turning 40 is such a blessing. Especially because as I child I always thought I would die before I grew up."

The I Can Do Bad All by Myselffilmmaker said he had memories of the "random, drunken, violent beatings" from his father, who he claims hated his love of books and would say things like, "You F*#*ing jackass! You got book sense but you ain't got no mothaf*#*en common sense! You ain't sh*t and ain't never gonna be sh*t!"

"He got the vacuum cleaner extension cord and trapped me in a room and beat me until the skin was coming off my back," Perry wrote. Perry added that his aunt, horrified by how badly beaten he was, nearly shot Perry's father, but her husband stopped her.

He also claimed his paternal grandmother gave him "a bath in ammonia" because of his allergies, and that he was molested by a man whose family later asked Perry to pay for his funeral.

"I quickly said no, but I wish I would have said yes. There is something so powerful to me in burying the man that molested me. I wish I would have dug the grave myself."

Perry believes his ability to forgive is what helped him survive. He told USA Today last year that he had reconciled with his dad.

"Think about it, as a child we have no recourse. We have nowhere to go. We have to endure it. But as adults, we have choices. I choose to forgive with all my might. Forgiveness has been my weapon of choice. It has helped to free me," Perry wrote.